Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appeared before the Akal Takht Secretariat after being summoned for alleged remarks on Sikh traditions. He submitted his clarification and expressed respect for the Akal Takht's authority.
Till the time Badal does not seek an apology for the mistakes he committed by appearing before the Akal Takht in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib, he is declared a 'tankhaiya', the Jathedar said.
After the Akal Takht on Friday declared Sukhbir Singh Badal 'tankhaiya' -- guilty of religious misconduct -- some leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as well as rebel Akalis called for the Shiromani Akali Dal chief to step down.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also took exception to the jathedar's statement and dubbed it as "mischievous".
The post, which has now been deleted, read, "June 1, 1984'?' 'Saka Neela Tara'. A humble tribute to all the martyrs of the day one of the attack on the Darbar Sahib by the Congress government."
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008. His re-election at the outfit's general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he quit after he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
The former deputy chief minister, a Z+ protectee, arrived at the Ananadpur Sahib shrine surrounded by security personnel. Dressed in blue 'sewadar' uniform, Badal sat at the entrance of the gurdwara with a spear in one hand.
Pronouncing 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders for the 'mistakes' committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday directed the senior Akali leader to perform as a 'sewadar', and wash dishes and clean shoes at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Two women got "married" at Gurdwara Kalgidhar Sahib in Bathinda district on September 18. Following this, the Akal Takht had then suspended the 'granthis' (sikh priests), the management and the 'ragis' (gurbani exponents) of the gurdwara.
The Punjab government has informed the Akal Takht that 348 of the 360 people taken into preventive custody during a police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh have now been freed.
Hundreds of Sikh youths, led by the Dal Khalsa, were carrying Khalistani flags and photographs of damaged Akal Takht.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
Bakshish Singh, a resident of Talli Gulam village, allegedly tore some pages of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, after entering the premises of the gurdwara in Bandala village, they said.
Akal Takht head Gurbachan Singh's customary address on the occasion of Diwali drowned in the din on Wednesday amid slogan shouting by Sikh hardliners, even as parallely "appointed" jathedar of Akal Takht also managed to address the gathering but was arrested soon after.
The leaders of some Sikh outfits and hardline groups were taken into preventive custody early Wednesday in apprehension of breach of peace after a call that the newly-appointed jathedars would address the community from the Akal Takht.
Describing the event as "da ghallughara (holocaust) of 84", Jathedar Akal Takht Gyani Harpreet Singh stressed on maintaining unity among the Sikh community.
Giani Gurbachan Singh took 36 years to rise from sewadar to jathedar of the Akal Takht (highest Sikh temporal seat) to which he was installed in Amritsar on Thursday amidst tight security of task force of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in the periphery of Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) at Akal Takht.
In the melee, a couple of turbans also came off, only a couple of yards where the Guru Granth Sahib was placed.
After Congress MP Rahul Gandhi worshipped at the Golden Temple on Gandhi Jayanti 2023, he again paid obeisance at the shrine and served langar for a second day on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by supporters of radical Sikh outfits as well as that of Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar at the Golden Temple on the 38th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
A day after daring the Punjab police to arrest him, radical preacher Amritpal Singh surfaced in a fresh video on Thursday, asserting he was not a fugitive and would soon appear before the world.
Amritpal Singh has been styling himself on the lines of terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed during Operation Blue Star in 1984, by copying his attire, mannerisms, carrying an arrow, keeping a battery of armed bodyguards and taking the shield of religion.
The rebel leaders met in Jalandhar when SAD chief Badal was holding a meeting with the district presidents and other leaders in Chandigarh to review the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
Channi slammed the AAP government over his date of appearance date being advanced and alleged it was part of the dispensation's "vendetta politics".
Despite being sighted in several CCTV footage and photos with changed appearances at many places, including Patiala, Kurukshetra and Delhi, the radical preacher continued to hoodwink the police.
The Punjab police arrested Jasvir Singh after the incident and booked him for hurting religious sentiments and attempt to murder.
Sikh organisations, including hardline groups, gathered to take part in 'Sarbat Khalsa', seeking to free Sikh institutions from political influence.
Confrontation between the Sikh bodies of Punjab and Haryana has become more political than religious, says Rediff.com contributor Upasna Pandey.
The additional director general of police (security), however, said in an order on Friday that the security personnel were 'being withdrawn on a purely temporary basis in connection with an emergent law and order duty'.
'In the 1971 War my battalion suffered 4 casualties after fighting for 14 days.' 'In Operation Blue Star, I lost 19 men in just one hour.'
Punjab Police expanded their search for Amritpal Singh on Friday to 'deras' and other possible hideouts of the fugitive preacher in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa held a meeting in Amritsar with the deputy commissioner, the police commissioner, the inspector general of police (border range), the Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police and other officials after the incident.
'Khalistan would have been in existence today, but for the army.'
It is as much about farmer woes and the lack of job opportunities as about the mixing of religion and politics.
There's an entire gurdwara dedicated to immigration. People present tiny airliner models here in the hope that Waheguru will soon give them a ticket, passport and visa to leave, reveals Shekhar Gupta.
'I'm now living under threat, but life has to go on because as a soldier, you can't run away from it.'
The Kartarpur corridor was an excellent opportunity for the Congress to seize centre-stage in Sikh religious affairs. After all, the Akalis never achieved this in their years in power, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
'It is funny that he's on CCTV all the time, but the Punjab police can't find him.'
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